Hungry for God; Starving for Time

Monday

When I Realized I Didn't Love God

For many years I squirmed whenever I would hear people talking about how much they LOVED God.I squirmed because I wasn't sure I did.Sounds heretical, doesn't it? Especially for a Christian.Being painfully honest with myself, I searched my heart. I discovered that I was very grateful to God. I feared and respected God. I even desired to please and serve God. But did I really LOVE God?I thought about the people I loved and the warm, affectionate, and sometimes almost painful intensity of emotion that I felt toward them, and I had to admit that I did not feel that level of intense emotion toward God.Jesus stated that the greatest commandment is that we should "Love the Lord (our) God," so I knew that loving God was important. I just didn't quite know how to fall in love with God.I thought back to my dating years, and about what made me fall in love with my husband. Do you remember how you fell in love with the man who would one day become your husband? Most likely, you spent time with him. You became a student of him and learned all about him. You learned about his character, and what made him laugh and cry. You even spent time with his family so you could understand his background and upbringing better. As you began to understand what motivated him and what he was really like, you fell madly in love with him.I decided to apply some of those same principles to God, because I really wanted to fall in love with Him.I started spending time with Him in prayer (speaking AND listening).I became a student of Him in order to learn all about Him. I began reading the Bible, often called God's Love Letter to the world, looking for aspects of His character. I started a list in the front of my Bible of every adjective I found that described God. Here are just a few of the words I found:

Photo credit Katherine Smith

FaithfulPatientKindLongsufferingLoyalGentlePeaceableTruthfulJustProtectiveCompassionateZealousMightyRomanticTenderCreativeArtisticStrongHumorousMusicalDynamicSacrificialGivingThoughtfulUnselfishI read about what made Him laugh and what made Him cry.I started spending time with His family, the church, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I saw His family traits demonstrated through them.I learned about what motivates Him, which ultimately boils down to one word:LOVEand I fell madly in love with Him. How could I not when I realized that I, part of sinful wicked humanity, am the recipient of all that God is?"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10)."We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).If you are not sure that you love God, commit to spend time getting to know Him through His word, the Bible. I can confidently say that you won't be able to resist Whom you come to know."But if you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart" (Deut. 4:29).

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My husband and I struggled for years to have a consistent quiet time together. Every marriage book we read said we should read the Bible ...

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